The legislative sessions begin in the New York State Capitol and also the definitions of how the fiscal year 2025 budget will be invested, therefore, immigrant defense coalitions are preparing to pressure from several fronts, so that at least five laws are not left outto provide protection to the most vulnerable families.
Almost none of the legislative proposals are new. Many have stayed for years “asleep”, due to lack of support from governors, assembly members and senators.
“It is time for this vision to change. We are at a critical moment for our State, where we have received thousands of new New Yorkers who require basic services. The time is now,” he warned this Tuesday, Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigrant Coalition (NYIC) at a demonstration at the state legislature in Albany.
Right to a lawyer
NYIC announces that it will intensify the campaign so that, taking advantage of last year’s historic investments in legal services, the Access to Representation Law to ensure that all immigrants have right to an attorney in Immigration Court.
This is the first legislation in the country that would empower immigrants to protect themselves and their families.
Currently, people facing deportation charges are not guaranteed an advocate; however, those who cannot afford this service must Find a nonprofit that can help them or represent themselves.
At this time of high demand for these services, most of these legal support organizations are saturated and people They require months of waiting to get an initial meeting.
This initiative would also protect who are vulnerable to fraudulent schemes.
The Access to Representation Act will require the State to appoint an attorney for anyone in New York who has a case before an immigration judge or who has grounds to appeal or request the reopening of an old deportation order.
For this year the ambition is to allocate $250 million in the New York State budget to meet the needs of this type of legal services.
In this direction, the Queens assemblerCatalina Cruz joined this petition, remembering that many families must face to advice from supposed lawyers who are fakeswho charge thousands of dollars and People still end up deported or with poorly formulated requests.
“10 years ago, this program, when no one believed in this, started with $10 million. Last year we achieved $60 million. Now we must expand it to free our most vulnerable New Yorkers from unscrupulous legal advisors,” highlighted the Colombian.
NY for All
Likewise, it remains on the priority list of the pro-immigrant coalitions that may finally see the light the controversial ‘New York for All’ legislation, which has fallen by the wayside for years. This bill would prohibit state and local government agencies, including police and sheriffs, from sharing information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Besides it would be illegal to allocate state resources to promote federal enforcement of immigration law.
Language Access
Last year the New York State Senate passed the Language Access Expansion Act, but on the way No agreements were generated to finalize its promulgation.
The proposal sponsored by the Dominican assemblyman, Manny de Los Santosrepresentative of Washington Heights would guarantee that all non-English speaking communities throughout the state have the same access to public services and to the same information than English-speaking people.
The bill would require all state agencies and departments, including the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Education to provide translation and interpretation services, in three additional languages spoken in a regional areaand would require a biennial evaluation, to update the state’s list of covered languages.
“We are not asking for anything special. It is a right, it is a State built by immigrants. We want the governor to support this proposal this year,” De Los Santos asked.
More credits and vouchers
Likewise, the New York Immigration Coalition continues with the campaign to approve the immigration legislation. Tax Credit for Working Families 2024which would guarantee a refundable and expanded credit for the poorer New Yorkers who pay taxes.
In this case, it would combine the Empire State Child Credit (ESCC)he Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the dependent exemption (DE)in a larger one.
For her part, activist Lidia Santiago, spokesperson for Immigrant Services, considers it “vital” to advance this legislation that will allow thousands of working class families to battle inflation and unemployment. constant increase in the cost of housing.
“Those of us who pay taxes, We could access resources that we don’t have right now.”, he noted.
Organizations and elected leaders will also be fighting to include in the state budget that must be agreed upon before April 1, an expansion of the Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) that would provide funded rental subsidy vouchers by the State to people who are homeless or who face eviction and are at risk of becoming homeless, regardless of your immigration status.
2024-01-24 09:59:00
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